How are you? Have you started a wonderful new week?

Until today, I have come back China from the US for 39 days and it has been 14 days since I wrote to you last time.

In the past 2 weeks, I have been working on paintings, English, music, writing book and my project plan:

-- Continuously I tried to use time to meet or visit some friends, former colleagues, bosses or my art teachers face to face or via Wei Chat ... during the communication with them, I have ordered my thoughts on my little cross-culture and comprehensive art project and the running model has gotten clearer day and day.

-- Continuously I kept my creating jobs. I have created two new paintings for two Chinese poems; I have also wrote 2 articles and recorded (informal) two poem songs with my own music.

When I was painting, I listened to my English lessons, and since Christmas, I have recited 5,700 English words and answered 22,800 questions.

During the process, the biggest feeling is that I have understood much more about the idiom "Hou Ji Bo Fa -- Accumulate Richly and Break Forth Vastly. "

As I had told you in my previous letter, as soon as I stepped the land of China , I felt that I had found my own root and so many ideas jumped into my mind so that I wanted to create 5 pictures in my mind. Then, before completing the fifth, some new ideas jumped into my mind one by one so that I do not worry about what I should paint, but I have just no time enough to work on them yet. :- )

The more interesting thing is: I am interested in a "new " kind of traditional Chinese paintings -- blue and green landscape more and more, so that I have spent so much time on it and I have created my first two paintings independently ( They are attached with this letter below and I do hope to bring you a big smile and to hear your comments ) .

In fact, I was quite interested in landscape and I wanted to major in it as soon as I entered in China Central Academy of Fine Arts, just because my health did not support me to paint from the nature in the mountains, I had to major in Chinese flower and bird painting in Chinese National Academy of Arts and in CAFA for 5 years.

However, I was lucky enough for I was required to attend all of the courses no matter landscape, figure or flower and bird in CAFA and I stayed with 4 previous students who were majored in landscape in same classroom in CANN for 2 years and I had seen the whole of the process how they painted their light brown landscapes and I myself have also painted some big size light brown landscapes, most of them needed to paint for several weeks, two of them used my time for 2.5 months respectively. And the school allowed me to attend any courses I wanted in CNAA. So, in the past 5 years, I had attended all of the courses by 58 best Chinese painting professors in the two highest art colleges of China and made video for all of the course I had attended in CNAA.

Then I found, even though it is the first time I created my new paintings with the ancient ( but new for me) painting technical, when I put my first new blue and green paintings on the Wei Chat, so many people, included a lot of my former classmates who are professional artists, some of them are associate professors gave me a lot of encouragements with good comments... So that I could not help thinking the Chinese idiom "accumulate richly and break forth vastly ".

Maybe just because I have done the assignments 3 or 4 times more than the professors' requests ( 1,090 colored pictures) in the past 13 years, and my work time has been keeping for 15 hours or more each day no matter I was in China or in the USA. Therefore, even though I was not majored in blue and green landscape, I could find some methods to teach myself by borrowing the methods that I had learned from the other 5 kinds of traditional Chinese paintings (and most of students usually learn 1 or 2 kinds) and I knew where I could find the data to teach me to paint and whom I should learn from in Chinese history...

The long time study on multi knowledge and skills, and the long time accumulation in different fields in 8 universities in the past a few decades has really given me a learning capacity to work independently.

Anyway, I know that I have not entered the gate of the blue and green landscape yet. I would really like to paint as many as possible and then to show them to my professors in Beijing when I go there in May, to get their good direstions...

On the contrary, because I have not kept working well on my English and I have just attended 32 % of the courses and just completed about 33% of the assignments which were given by my Chinese English School, so that I have just gotten 57 in the examination this morning, even though I had gotten 82 in their online examinations twice and was the NO. 4 in their 1,200 students when I was in the USA in Jan, 2016. :- )

The result of the examination today is just like a strike knocking on my head and awoke up me suddenly. If I did not work harder on my English as same as I did on painting and tried to accumulate enough, I would not be able to pass the national English examination once more... in the other words, if I did not pay more attention to accumulate richly no matter on English knowledge or skills, I would not have anything to " break forth vastly" and I would be certainly fail once more.

When I wrote here, I could not help thinking of my English instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College, if she did not write to me and reminded me that I had missed some of her English lessons, I would not be able to keep attending the English lesson and I would not be able to get 84, 78, 88, 92, 86 (from the origianl 55 when I just arrived in the US in August,2015) in her lessons and the two 82 in the English School of China at the same time. Now I have left from her and her lessons, and I have missed my English lessons and was fail once more. :- )

Now, I have thought another Chinese idiom: “Ni Shui Xing Zhou, Bu Jin Ze Tui -- Study is like "sailing against the current ; either you keep forging ahead or you keep falling behind”

So, with so much shame and a big smile, I have learned a good lesson, I am going to arrange my time seriously, instead of working on something I am interested only, but try to focus on something which is just like a tiger which blocks on my road of dream seeking. The first and the most important thing should be to improve my English and pass the national examination, even though it is really a paint process, I have no any option else. :-)

Before I finished this letter, I would really like to thank so many good friends who have helped me from the USA, Britain, Australia and China in the past 2 weeks.

I would like to thank Mrs. Fran Giglio -- my English instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College of USA, Dr. Steve Olson -- my professor in Missouri State University, Mr. Mike Joyce -- my English tutor in Britain, Mr. Xu Yang -- my former work partner in Shanghai, Mr. Li Zhong -- the first friend who helped me in Australia, Mr. Charlie Quan Zhang (he is on the last photo – the first one from the right) -- my work partner in Shenzhen, Dr. David Liu – a American friend from Stanford University and a guest professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University for they have corrected my Chinese poem translations in the past 2 weeks. If there were no their good help, I would not be able to complete my paintings, music and articles...

I would also like to thank Mr. Liu Shaotao (he is on the last photo – the first one from the left)who is my former work assistant and a current general manager of a fund company for he has personally donated 100,000 RMB/about 15,600 US dollars to assist me to complete the second volume of my last series - Together With Me, Learn Chinese Culture and Language by Enjoy and Experiencing Paintings, Music and Poetry which has been listed to be the textbook of my new course in OTC since Jan, 2017.

I would really like to thank Ms. Xue Changqing ( she is on the last phone – the second one from the right) – the Editor in Chief of a top Financial Magazine of China, Mrs. Liao Xiaoqun (she is on the last photo – the second one from the left) – a manage of a securities company for they have spent much time on helping me on my project plan.

I would like to thank Dr. Fang Zhulan – a Professor and a Tutor of the Doctoral students in Renmin University of China, Dr. Chen Jieping – a Professor and the vice Provost of China Europe International Business School for they would like to help me via their way...

I would like to thank Professor Jiang Yaping (he is on the second photo) – the founder and the first Editor in Chief of People's Daily.com, a good calligrapher for he has given me some good direction in his busy travel.

I would like to thank Professor Tao Hui ( he is on the 4th photo) – my first Chinese painting teacher and taught me for 8 years, Dr. Liu Juli (she is on the 5th photo) – the former director general and secretary of the party committee of Shenzhen Bureau of Audit, Mrs. Shao Xiaomeng(she is on the 6th photo), Mr. Xiao Bing (he is on the 7th photo) for they have come to see me.

Especially I would like to thank Mr. Wu Fengyi (he is on the 3rd photo in the middle)– the former President and Editor in Chief of Securitas Times Newspaper Office and the best boss in my carrier road and a good calligrapher, Mrs. Liu – his wife and Mr. Chu Zhusheng – the director of the administration office of the newspaper office for they have sent their wonderful photo to me from Beijing.

How about you, do you have anything special to share?


I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do somethings with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Cross - Culture and Comprehensive Arts, Language & Friendship. To help the others and this world while improving myself and realizing my own value of life.

I would really like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Sincerely,

Shirley Yiping Zhang
March 28, 2016 (American Local Time)